Allen Not All That He Seems?
by xFluffyFangx
Summary: Allen's done a fine job of keeping his secret so far, but what happens when Van finds out? One-shot; non-yaoi


**Allen---not all that he seems!**

"Oh no! No no no! This can't be happening! It's far too early!" A few small spots of chesnut; surely no one would notice…_But they might! I can't take the chance. If people knew…well the consequences are too ghastly to imagine! _

Allen Schezar tore his gaze away from the mirror and quickly ran out of his bedroom and slid out into the adjacent corridor. Dashing down the hall, his coat-tails trailing like flags behind him, he frightened several of the maids to death, although once they realized who it was, had started blushing furiously.

_Good. No one noticed yet. Then again, I am running pretty quick._

Reaching the front steps, Allen clambered onto his horse and took off at a gallop down the cobblestone street. Just when it seemed his horse was about to give out, he had reached his destination.

Allen tied his horse to a nearby wooden pole and stepped out of the bright sunshine and into the darkness of the canvas shop.

"Ah, Allen Schezar! How wonderful it is to see you, my best customer!" A burly-sounding voice resonated from somewhere in the dusty corners of the stall.

At a sharp intake of breath, Allen froze and glanced around the stall for signs of life other than he and the shopkeeper. Finding none, he started breathing again and spoke.

"Listen, I need more of your best solution. And make haste, there's a banquet tonight, and it needs to be ready in time." Allen produced several notes from somewhere inside his coat and handed them over.

The shopowner's eyes bulged greedily. He nodded and then hurried through a curtain into the store room. Allen studied the room; it's dusty shelves, filled with miscellaneous potions, several ominous-looking plants, and other different odds-and-ends. He started tapping his foot on the ground in impatience.

_I tell him to make haste, and what does he do? Take longer than usual, that's what he does. _Allen let out a snort of agitation.

A few moments later the shopkeeper emerged from the storeroom holding a leather-covered bottle. Allen glanced up sharply, and, grabbing the bottle out of his hand, quickly shuffled outside again.

"He should be grateful," the shopkeeper mumbled to himself, "if anyone knew his secret…" He chuckled to himself, and waved a hand absentmindedly through the air, as if to brush off the thought.

"No matter, I'm in no posistion to say anything."

* * *

**Back in Allen's room, several minutes later...**

"Almost done!" Allen chuckled gleefully to himself.

"No one will ever know!" _No one will ever, ever, ever know my secret._

Someone knocked on the door, and Allen looked up; a deer-in-the-headlights expression etched all over his features. He didn't answer the door, instead pretending to not be there. _Whoever's there will go away if I just ignore them._

Allen Schezar was mistaken.

"Allen?" Van Fanel's voice beckoned him.

"Allen, are you there? Are you getting ready for the banquet?" His muffled voice called again from outside of the door. He started to open the door slightly.

"I was wondering what you were planning on wear-"

The door, now fully open with Van's slender silhouette in it, exposed what was going on in Allen's bedroom.

Van gaped, open-mouthed and eyes wide at Allen's look of surprise and horror.

"Allen! I-I had no idea! And to think all this time I thought it was natural…"

It started out as an amused chuckle, but then grew into full-blown hysterical laughter.

"Alle-Alle-ahhahhahahahahha!" Falling to the floor, Van doubled over in laughter.

Meanwhile, Allen just stood there looking quite flustered; red flushing through his cheeks.

"Van!" Allen bent down and shook Van by the shoulders.

"Van! You must promise me not to tell anyone about this! I'm serious! You see how you're reacting now? If my soldiers saw me, or Hitomi…"

"Allen." Van gave him a serious expression, although his laughter was threatening to burst right beneath the surface.

"Man-to-man," Van put his hand firmly on Allen's shoulder," I promise you, no one will know but I."

"Thank you."

"But honestly Allen, I really think you should go back to your natural hair color. Brunette really does it for you."

The palor drained from Allen's face as Van got up and exited his room, his chuckles resounding throughout the corridor.


End file.
